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Cruz’s $16 Million Deal With Rangers Is Backloaded

ARLINGTON (AP) – Nelson Cruz’s $16 million, two-year contract with the Texas Rangers calls for the AL championship series MVP to receive a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $5 million this year and $10.5 million in 2013.

Under the agreement announced Friday, Cruz’s 2013 salary can rise by an additional $500,000 based on plate appearances in 2012: $100,000 each for 500, 525, 550, 575 and 600.

He can earn an additional $50,000 if he’s an All-Star, as he was in 2009, and $75,000 if he’s the AL championship series MVP, which he earned last year after hitting a record six home runs in the six-game victory over Detroit.